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The rest of the Pirates' middle infielders.... So much of what is going to happen with these players is going to depend on what the Pirates elect to do about their back-up infield roster spots.  Ciriaco?  Rodriguez? Wimberley?

Brian Friday  --  R/R,  5' 11",  180 lb

Friday was the Pirates' 3rd round draft pick in 2007.  He reached AA Altoona in 2009 and was their regular shortstop, but did not have as good a season as he' hoped, committing 25 errors in 102 games and hitting .265 with 7 homers and 46 RBI.  Friday was promoted to Indianapolis to begin 2010.  He began the season hitting a solid .270 with 6 RBI in April.  That slid to .242 in May, but he homered twice and had 11 RBI.  Friday got hot in early June, going 10-for-26 (.385) in the first 9 days, which raised his overall average to .277.  But then Friday was clipped by a base runner sliding into second base.  The ankle sprain he suffered kept him on the Disabled List in the middle part of the season.   When he returned, his hitting had suffered, and Friday hit just .233 over the rest of the season.  Friday struck out 69 times over the season, but those were about evenly distributed between before-the-ankle-injury (36 times in 50 games) and after-the-ankle-injury (33 times in 43 games).  Friday played most of his games at second base for the Indians, though he also got in a bit of time at shortstop.  The 25-year-old Friday was invited to the major league camp for Spring Training, but he was reassigned to the minor league camp on Monday.  The Pirates have indicated that they will want Friday to be the regular second baseman at AAA Indianapolis in 2011.

 

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Blue Jays 5,  Pirates  3
The Pirates lost to the Blue Jays at McKechnie Field this afternoon.   
Pitchers Mike Crotta, Chris Resop, and Joel Hanrahan each pitched a scoreless inning for the Pirates, with both Crotta and Hanrahan retiring the side in order.  Crotta was aided by a leaping catch by SS Pedro Ciriaco.  Starter Paul Maholm pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 runs -- a solo homer in the 1st, then a 2-run homer in the 3rd.  Another run scored in the 3rd on a walk, a stolen base and a single.  Jose Veras allowed one run in the 8th on two singles and a sacrifice bunt, but he struck out the last two batters he faced to get out of the inning.

2B Neil Walker tied the score in the bottom of the 1st with his second home run of the spring.  1B Lyle Overbay and RF Garrett Jones added a run in the 4th.  Overbay walked, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch.  Jones' single through the right side of the infield brought Overbay across the plate.  The Blue Jays helped with the Pirates' final run in the 8th.  With two outs, CF Corey Wimberly singled up the middle, and he also moved up to second base on a wild pitch.   Three straight walks, to 3B Josh Rodriguez, pinch-hitter Andy Marte, and Jones, forced in Wimberly.  The Pirates tried a last-minute rally in the 9th, when C Wyatt Toregas singled and 2B Jordy Mercer walked.  A fly out by Wimberly ended the rally, though.  

Also in the game today:  LF Josh Fields, C Dusty Brown, RF John Bowker. 


 In Minor League Camp: 
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs  6,  Indianapolis Indians  5
The Indians had an early lead, as they faced Phillies' star Roy Halladay this afternoon.  DH Tony Sanchez picked up 2 RBI with a timely double in the 1st inning, and C Travis Scott added an RBI double in the 2nd inning.  The Indians had runners on first and third in the 5th inning, when RF Miles Durham (on third) and DH Gorkys Hernandez (on first) pulled off a double steal, for the Indians' fourth run off Halladay.  2B Christian Colonel made it 5-3 in the top of the 8th with a solo home run.  But the Iron Pigs tied the score with 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th, taking advantage of two Tribe errors and a sacrifice fly.  Reliever Anthony Claggett then surrendered a double, which drove in the go-ahead run and gave Claggett the loss.  

The minor league spring training games began today, with the Indy Indians facing off against the Las Vegas 51's in Dunedin.  Info about the minor league games tends to be sketchy at best, and often non-existent, but this evening we got some info:
51's  5,  Indians  2  --   Rudy Owens got the start in the Indians' first game.  He pitched 3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts.  The runs came in the 3rd, with former Indy Indian (2005-06) Craig Stansberry contributing to the rally.  The Indians scored one of their runs in the top of the 1st, on three consecutive hits by CF Gorkys Hernandez, SS Chase d'Arnaud, and 1B Matt Hague (RBI).  Stansberry picked up another RBI in Las Vegas' 3-run 7th inning.  


Meanwhile, back to the middle infielders:

Brock Holt --  Bats L / Throws R;  5' 10",  165 lbsHolt was the Pirates' 9th round pick in the 2009 draft.  He can play both second base and shortstop, and did both at State College in 2009, though more at short.  He also hit well for the Spikes, with a .299 average, 6 homers, and 33 RBI in 66 games.  The Pirates thought well enough of him to have him begin 2010 at A+ Bradenton (skipping A level West Virginia).  It was a good move, at least offensively, as Holt got off to a roaring start -- he hit .383 in April, .310 in May, and was 9-for-18 in June.  His defense was a little shaky.  Holt made 14 errors in 47 games at shortstop.  Then in early June, Holt collided with teammate Adenson Chourio during a game and tore the median collateral ligament in his knee.  It was a "compound" tear, so it took longer than the average time to heal, and Holt missed the entire rest of the season.  He has said that his rehab time went well, and he was ready to go when spring training began.  Holt could begin the 2011 season back with Bradenton if the Pirates feel he needs more work on defense at that level, but his hitting in 2010 seems to indicate that he'd be ready for AA Altoona.  The 23-year-old Holt has said that he's equally comfortable at second base and shortstop and that he has no particular preference for either one.